BBC’s Dracula Billboard Confuses People During The Daytime But Grabs Attention At Night
BBC’s new series Dracula, which debuted with the new year, is already bound to draw lots of curiosity just by virtue of being written by the same team that brought us Sherlock and some recent incarnations of Doctor Who. But in order to really catch potential viewers’ attention, the network’s creative team constructed an inventive advertisement with a twist that only comes out when the sun goes down.
On the billboards, placed at busy intersections in London and Birmingham, the real stakes protruding from their surface create a shadow that looks like much more than the sum of the objects casting it. What would you say if you saw this at night?
These innovative billboards were put up in London and Birmingham
Image credits: bbccreative
Time-lapse shows what happens when sun goes down and the lights come on
Image credits: bbccreative
Image credits: bbccreative
Image credits: bbccreative
The miniseries, consisting of three episodes that aired in a whirlwind over the first few days of the new year, didn’t quite manage to draw the premiere crowd that its successors did. Critics gave numerous explanations, such as the media viewing habits that people prefer in 2020 (the whole series in one sitting alone on Saturday night, baby,) or the fact that horror is by nature a polarizing genre for mainstream audiences.
Dracula is a three-episode mini-series that aired on BBC
Viewers were split over how the display works, with some claiming that you can’t possibly control where shadows end with that much precision when casting light across a flat surface, and there had to be a backlighting trick under the billboard’s surface. If you look at the photos of the billboard from a different angle, though, you will notice that the light source is positioned in front of the billboard, further away than the length of any of the stakes, casting light diagonally upon it rather than straight across its surface. The finer details like the teeth are 2D protrusions from the stakes, intended not to be noticeable when viewing the billboard head on.
Commenters like the ad, but have mixed reviews of the show
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The first 2 episodes were fantastic, but I honestly don't think the 3rd was as bad as many were making it out to be, sure, it wasn't great, and I don't understand the modern day twist or whatever, but it wasn't outright terrible, just "eh" compared to the other 2. Though the scene with that girl being cremated was scary, I was thinking she'd turn into a pile of sentient ash and that would have been really effed up :/
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This is genius! But how many commuters only saw it during the day and never at night?
More than made up by people who don't even live nearby but see it online because people are talking about it. Also, England doesn't get much daylight this time of year.
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dracula didn't shows at daylight.. they only appears at night.. really awesome
Some people havent heard of sun dials? The shadow of something will always be in the same spot based on the time of day and where the sun is in the sky.
I don't care how cool the billboard is, I still resent paying the license fee
They do that so you don't have to watch ads. I think they should just put ads on.
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Very clever. Dracula is supposed to come out at dead of night and his image is very cleverly designed to be more pronounced in the dead of night.
Cool to use wooden stakes (traditionally used to kill vampires in their coffins) to make the shadow of the vampire, along with the emergency sharpened stake behind glass—-though adding a mallet would complete the set.
No, it was on BBC1. It's already finished, but you might be able to find it on iplayer.
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The show was great, I want Sister Agatha to be my friend. There should have been more of these billboards put up around the country though. Most people (not all!) who are dissing the show have probably not read the book, but have judged by snowflake standards.
A funny story about Count Dracula and his castle in Transylvania: https://romaniaprivatetours.com/draculas-castle/
First poster is assuming the shadow is cast by the light of the moon or something, and so it should move over time, when it's obviously cast by the fixed light sticking out at the front. Dumbass
It's a fake illusion. Those spikes are not actually casting the shadow of the face. There is something else going on there to make that show up.
You are right, they don't. If you look closely, you will see the actual shadows of the stakes cast along the left edge of the much larger shape of the head. Still, a very effective illusion.
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The first 2 episodes were fantastic, but I honestly don't think the 3rd was as bad as many were making it out to be, sure, it wasn't great, and I don't understand the modern day twist or whatever, but it wasn't outright terrible, just "eh" compared to the other 2. Though the scene with that girl being cremated was scary, I was thinking she'd turn into a pile of sentient ash and that would have been really effed up :/
Load More Replies... This is genius! But how many commuters only saw it during the day and never at night?
More than made up by people who don't even live nearby but see it online because people are talking about it. Also, England doesn't get much daylight this time of year.
Load More Replies... dracula didn't shows at daylight.. they only appears at night.. really awesome
Some people havent heard of sun dials? The shadow of something will always be in the same spot based on the time of day and where the sun is in the sky.
I don't care how cool the billboard is, I still resent paying the license fee
They do that so you don't have to watch ads. I think they should just put ads on.
Load More Replies... Very clever. Dracula is supposed to come out at dead of night and his image is very cleverly designed to be more pronounced in the dead of night.
Cool to use wooden stakes (traditionally used to kill vampires in their coffins) to make the shadow of the vampire, along with the emergency sharpened stake behind glass—-though adding a mallet would complete the set.
No, it was on BBC1. It's already finished, but you might be able to find it on iplayer.
Load More Replies... The show was great, I want Sister Agatha to be my friend. There should have been more of these billboards put up around the country though. Most people (not all!) who are dissing the show have probably not read the book, but have judged by snowflake standards.
A funny story about Count Dracula and his castle in Transylvania: https://romaniaprivatetours.com/draculas-castle/
First poster is assuming the shadow is cast by the light of the moon or something, and so it should move over time, when it's obviously cast by the fixed light sticking out at the front. Dumbass
It's a fake illusion. Those spikes are not actually casting the shadow of the face. There is something else going on there to make that show up.
You are right, they don't. If you look closely, you will see the actual shadows of the stakes cast along the left edge of the much larger shape of the head. Still, a very effective illusion.
Load More Replies... 
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